founding farmers

you know you’ve finally settled into a new city when you discover your favorite restaurant. it’s more than a little like falling in love — it doesn’t happen when you intend for it to, or when you expect for it to, but suddenly you just know. well, tina finally became a DC resident for real this week when she discovered her favorite restaurant: founding farmers. it’s a restaurant with an enticing backstory (a co-op owned by 42,000 farmers across the united states) and an eclectic, enthralling menu.

this is a place that does it all, but at the same time manages to do it all right. and that’s hard. you go from a fun-flavored popcorn to a fresh earthy cornbread to a sumptuous plate of mussels or ravioli.

it’s inevitable that some people will confuse the name “Founding Farmers” with the phrase “Founding Fathers”. well, there’s a big difference, and I’ll tell you what it is. the founding fathers were big on truth and honesty, and I don’t think founding farmers has that same frank approach. here’s an example: on the founding farmers menu, they have something called “fork tender pork ribs”. that is just wrong. it should read instead, “incredibly succulent truly-fork-tender pork ribs the size of your face”.

everything up to this point had me liking the restaurant but not loving it. after the ribs, I’m a believer. I’m not sure how far south of DC you’d normally have to drive to get ribs this good but my guess is at least north carolina. and for that, I think the founding fathers would salute these farmers and order another round of blood orange soda.

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Fat Matt’s and Maddy’s (run by two owners who used to work at the same place but later split up) are good options in Atlanta. But yeah, for people who care about BBQ, north carolina is the state. I don’t even know whether I’m a molasses-based or vinegar-base guy myself…